On the heels of underwhelming performances by the Macallan Editions 3 and 4, I turn to Edition 2 to save the show. Not that the former two were bad whiskies; it's just that they were not worth the hype or the $100 price of entry, let alone the absurd secondary market prices. Let's see if No. 2 can redeem the limited edition line. Nose: Orange, vanilla, milk chocolate, apple, apricot, toffee, and malt. White/green grape. Sherry notes of plum, poundcake, raisin, date, fig. Very little spice; maybe just a hint of baking spice. Nowhere near what I'd expect at 48.2%. Huge oak note. It's very clean and elegant, maybe just a bit restrained. A quality Macallan nose. Palate: Orange peel, apricot, and apple come through in a big way. More dry red fruits: raisin, date, fig. I get the milk chocolate and vanilla ice cream cake note I find in quality Macallan bottlings. Some cinnamon, black pepper, and ginger provide spice. There's also honey and toffee, some walnut and almond, and loads of oak. It's the standard Macallan profile done just right. Finish: Orange peel zest and ginger spice. Some more of milk chocolate/vanilla ice cream cake. A bit of coffee to wash it down now. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg provide a little kick to conclude what makes for a medium length finish. This is the clear winner of Editions 2,3, and 4. I'm giving it a 4.25, which, if I remember correctly, puts it a full star ahead of the other two in my book. Seems like this one was a tough act to follow. I put it up there with the 15 year Fine Oak as the best Mac releases at this price point. There are a lot of similarities between the two. Both relatively light, but very refined and elegant. Is it worth $100? Yes. Will you find it at that price? At this point, probably not. Collectors have scavenged these bottles; you can still find 3 and 4 pretty easily, and based on the results of my tastings, I don't think it's a coincidence. I lucked out and found this a few months back at retail price. They've since been cleaned out, as has every location I've checked out since. With that in mind, just buy the Mac 18. It's probably the same price as this one when you consider what the latter goes for on the secondary-market. Regardless, this is a great effort by Macallan. They pulled out all the stops here. So after a couple of highly critical reviews, I think I owe Macallan a retroactive "job well done" for this fine product.